Kindergarteners: Play-i's Bo and Yana

Using play to teach coding, Play-i's Bo and Yana ($228 for both Bo and Yana, available Christmas 2014) look like two fun little robots, but they're actually early programming tools that kids as young as 5 years old can control. While kids engage in storytelling, music, and make-believe play, Bo (the moveable, three-wheeled robot) can blink his eyes, dance, play music, and deliver flowers on command. At the same time, Yana (the stationary robot) can roar like a lion or make helicopter sounds when shaken. The robots work with a Bluetooth-based remote control app that has kids use icon-based sequences to create commands for the robots.